Fashion, Desire and Anxiety
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin86a1O6vEzfsTODroB8K3CNHpoasEpBeLTOokN984YdCzWB6vm6Lh_nupjOSkO-AppDsaIsFnA4zKnABaRfb-Vp8HH4Vop3-T2OJDLyjW1BXo1y1sH-ub1g6JODXQvGs0u8MnLVU_gcrg/s320/fashion+desire+anxiety+book.jpg)
Pros: I appreciated Arnold's depiction of the medium of clothing as a symbol for both women's advancement and regression in the 20th century. She broke the book into topics of power, status and display; violence and provocation; the eroticized body; and gender and subversion.
![Alexander McQueen's extreme styles were frequent examples of modern fashion's obsession with decadence, decay and violence.](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLUeQRG9I_-CLO4sqFgFavxp6DX3yeQio5bIXbnqBjri87sVvaBTdQhQhtzxNluw-ZAm-O7HaYL4qujt8Yilg0AQYMy0khiwvDC1MsbBl0PDsmzN0puIQ9b1C5mZmQcO4d06TxX47xTipW/s400/alexander+mcqueen+fw07+armor+fetish.jpg)
Arnold's examples were current and well-chosen. She had photographs for every major point.
I will never look at a fashion editorial the same way. If you tell me I'm over evaluating a blurred edge, I'll just make you read the book.
Cons: Because it's an academic text, it's rather dry. I found myself falling asleep a few times (though that may have been because I was reading in a warm car on my lunch break). The information is fascinating, but there's so much my brain went numb at points.
I wish the publisher had sprung for colored pictures. It's hard to get the full impact of the runway look or photograph in greyscale.
Favorite Tidbits: This isn't really the sort of book where I can pull out a few interesting facts, but I may write some mini essays on some of the ideas in the future.
Comments